Date Yourself In Your '20s Because Happiness Isn't found In Other People

Anne Perkins from Parks and Recreation dated herself after a bad breakup and I think we all should too.

Go to the store, buy yourself a box of chocolates and stop whining about being single. This time in your life is valuable and it shouldn’t be wasted waiting for someone who isn’t there. I promise you that the person your supposed to be with will come into your life when they’re supposed to, not necessarily when you want them to.

Right now is the perfect time to figure out want you want, who you are and where you want to be. Figuring yourself out is so much easier when no one is there to influence your decisions. This doesn’t mean you’ll find all the answers but you’ll get closer to the ones you’re looking for.

Take the time to get to know yourself and find what makes you happy. You’ll find yourself feeling more confident because you are doing what's best for you and relying on yourself to reach your goals.

Most people in their 20’s are figuring out what to do with the rest of their life. You shouldn’t be spending this time getting to know what your boyfriend or girlfriend wants to do with theirs because your goals are important and so are you.

Love your friends! Right now, you are building relationships with the people who will stand by your side through the bad times, the funny times and one day at your wedding. So make memories with them, invest in them, and let them know you care.

Lastly, don't be too hard on yourself. You 20's are also the years you'll mess up a lot. Remember that your past isn't your future and you've still got so many things ahead.

An Open Letter To My Boyfriend's Mom

Wow, where do I start? Ever since the day your son brought me into your home you have shown me nothing but kindness. I have not one negative thought about you and I am truly thankful for that. I first and foremost want to thank you for welcoming me with open arms. There are horror stories of mothers resenting their son's girlfriends and I am blessed there is no resentment or harsh feelings.

Thank you for treating me like one of your children, with so much love but knowing exactly when to tease me.

Thank you for sticking up for me when your son teases me, even though I know it’s all in good fun it's always comforting knowing you have someone by your side.

Thank you for raising a man who respects women and knows how to take responsibility of mistakes and not a boy who is immature and doesn’t take responsibility.

Thank you for always including me in family affairs, I may not be blood family but you do everything you can to make sure I feel like I am.

Thank you for letting me make memories with your family.

There is nothing I value more in this world then memories with friends and family and I am thankful you want and are willing to include me in yours. I have so much to thank you for my thoughts keep running together.

The most important thing I have to thank you for is for trusting me with your son. I know how precious and valuable he is and I won't break his heart. I will do everything I can to make him happy. This means more than you could ever imagine and I promise I will never break your trust.

The second most important thing I must thank you for is for accepting me for who I am. Never have you ever wished I looked like another girl or acted like another girl. You simply love and care for me and that’s all I could ever ask. Every person in this world is a unique different person and understanding that means a lot.

The third most important thing I must thank you is teaching me how to one day in the future treat a potential girlfriend that I may interact with as a mother. I am not a mother, but I one day plan to be. If I ever have a son it is because of how you treated me that I am able to be a humble loving mother to this new face that could one day walk into my door. How you have treated me has taught me how I should one day be in the future and I thank you for that.

This may seem all over the place but that’s how my brain gets when I try and thank you for everything you have done for me. It’s all so much and even the little things are so important so I promise my scattered thoughts are all with good intentions and not meant to bombard you. I just want to get the idea across to you that you are important and special to me and everything you do does not go unnoticed.

Yes, It's Time To Move On From That Break-Up

Every now and then, we are disappointed. Disappointed by strangers, our selves, close friends, family, and the list can go on. We are so caught up on the fact that our trust had laid within the actions of these individuals and they betrayed that trust, only leading to pain for yourself. The problem is, we often forgive and forget, especially after a break-up with a significant other. We forget the pain that was caused by these people and we let them walk back into our lives to hurt us all over again, once more, just because it is a place where we are familiar and comfortable. This, however, it not leading to a more fulfilled life or the ability to experience the world, it is causing you to regress on your journey to being able to love someone in the future.

After a break-up, forgiving your ex for the hurt they caused you is a large part of the self-healing process. Coming to terms with the fact that their decision to move on with their life without you in it, is a decision that they chose on their own. It is not due to anything you gave to the relationship, especially if your whole heart was involved the entire time. Being able to forgive those who broke your heart will allow you to move forward without hate towards that person in the future as well as a clear head, and how can you hate someone you cared so much for at one point?

The struggle comes when you need to move forward with your life without that person present any longer; AKA the dreaded moving on phase. Everything reminds you of them. Songs that come on the radio that you sang together, their slang, their favorite stupid things, they all seem to pop back into your life at the most inconvenient times. These things never fail to put you in an emotional state of distraught (often very dramatic as well) leading to you wanting to reach out to them and start small talk.

But the problem is, you can't find love where you lost it. You can not find love where heartbreak has grown and thrived. There is a world full of light and love and positive energy that awaits you…without them in it.

As crushing as it may be to realize that your first love is not the person for you, it is imperative that you find the beauty in the world that true love has to offer you. Never moving on or moving forward when you know that your heart does not belong where it lays requires a level of responsibility that you must take on for yourself. Being comfortable where you were hurt is not being happy. It is being confined to what you know.

There is a world full of options and experiences to face with people who will show you the truest meaning of love. As hard as it may be to move on for yourself and put yourself out there again, it is well worth it. The happiest times of your life lay on the road ahead and that ex should remain in the rear view mirror so you can get to that new, beautiful place.